ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
AYUSH
Ministry of Ayush organises series of five webinars on "Be with Yoga, Be at Home"
Five Renowned organisations to collaborate in the series
The Ministry of Ayush is organising various activities in the run up to the International Day of Yoga, 2021. One among these is a series of five webinars that the Ministry is organising under the broad theme of “Be with Yoga, Be at Home” in collaboration with five renowned organisations of the country who will present one webinar each on a particular topic of importance in the current scenario. The first among the series will be held on Monday, 24 May by The Art of Living on “Finding inner strength amidst outer crisis.”
This series of five insightful webinars is aimed to remind to the wider audience about the issues that have become extremely important in the present context of Covid-19. The series will seek to develop a cumulative understanding to respond to these cross cutting issues, relying upon the collective experiential wisdom of five organisations that have their own distinctive tradition of learning and sharing.
The Art of Living will be presenting the Monday webinar on “Finding inner strength amidst outer crisis” from 5 PM onwards to address the challenges being faced by the vast multitude humanity due to the pandemic. Swami Purnachaitanya Ji, International Faculty, The Art of Living would share his insights. Shri P.N. Ranjit Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, and Dr. Ishwar V. Basavaraddi, Director, MDNIY will also speak on the occasion.
All the webinars will be live-streamed on YouTube & Facebook Page of the Ministry of Ayush.
The other four webinars to follow in this series will be presented by The Yoga Institute, Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, Arham Dhyan Yog, and Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute.
MV/SK
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Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Amendment in RTI Act
The Government is considering a proposal to amend the Right to Information Act, 2005.
A notice of intention has been given to introduce “The Right to Information  Bill, 2018” in the Rajya Sabha for consideration and its passage during the current session of Parliament. The purport of the amendments proposed is to provide for enabling provision under the RTI Act to frame Rules regarding salaries, allowances and conditions of service for Chief Information Commissioners and Information Commissioners and State Information Commissioners. Presently, there are no such provisions available under the RTI Act.
Consultations with Department of Expenditure, Department of Legal Affairs and Legislative Department have been undertaken while preparing/formulating the RTI  Bill, 2018.
This information was provided by the Union Minister of State  Development of North-Eastern Region , MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Science & Technology
Bio-Technology Parks
The Department of Biotechnology  has partnered with various State Governments to establish Biotech Parks since 2003. It has helped to translate research into products and services by providing necessary infrastructure support. These parks are successfully accelerating the commercialization of new technologies, assisting new enterprises to forge appropriate linkages with other stakeholder of biotechnology sector including academia, industry and Government. DBT has supported establishment of nine Biotechnology Parks in different State and UTs. The details are given below:
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S. No.
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State/UT
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Name of Biotechnology Park
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-
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Uttar Pradesh
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Biotech Park, Lucknow
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-
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Telangana
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Biotechnology Incubation Centre, Hyderabad
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-
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Tamil Nadu
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Tidco Centre for Life Sciences  Biotech Park, Chennai
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-
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Tamil Nadu
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The Golden Jubilee Biotech Park for Women, Chennai
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-
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Assam
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Biotech Park Technology Incubation Centre, Guwahati
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-
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Kerala
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Biotechnology Incubation Centre, Cochin
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-
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Karnataka
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Biotechnology Park, Bangalore
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-
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Jammu & Kashmir
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Industrial Biotechnology Parks  
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-
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Chhattisgarh
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Chhattisgarh Biotech Park
Details of proposals received from States during last three years and current year and their current status is given in table below:
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S. No.
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State
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Current status of proposal
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-
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Telangana
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The proposal has been approved by the Department
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-
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West Bengal
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DBT-Scheme Steering Committee  recommended the proposal in –principle and has suggested for setting up of a SPV for the Biotech Park. Response of State S&T Council is awaited.
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-
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Karnataka 
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DBT-SSC suggested revision of proposal. Revised proposal is awaited.
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-
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Madhya Pradesh
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DBT-SSC suggested revision of proposal. Revised proposal to be considered in next meeting of DBT-SSC
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-
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Himachal Pradesh
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DBT-SSC suggested revision of proposal. Revised proposal to be considered in next meeting of DBT-SSC
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-
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Andhra Pradesh 
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The proposal is under consideration for support
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-
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Andhra Pradesh

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Proposal Not Recommended by SSC
This was stated by Union Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan in Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Railways
Rail Connectivity to Sikkim gets fast tracked
Sivok Rangpo Rail project shows perceptible progress
58% mining work completed in 14 Main Tunnels- 22.23 km of 38.65 km
42% work completed of 13 Major bridges
Ministry of Railways has been laying great emphasis on improvement in Railway infrastructure in the North-eastern region. North Eastern Region is served by Northeast Frontier Railway consisting of 8 states i.e. Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya and Sikkim.
Out of 8 States of North Eastern Region, rail network connectivity now exists in 7 States. For, Sikkim, the new line project Sivok-Rangpo  was sanctioned. The foundation stone of this project was done by Minister of Railway, Govt. of India at Sivok  on 30.10.2009 & at Rangpo  by Vice President of India on the same day.
Out of Total length of 44.96 km, 38.65 km  is in tunnels, 2.24 km  in Bridges and4.79 km  length in open cutting/filling of station yards. The proposed line consists of 14 tunnels with longest tunnel of 5.30 km& the smallest tunnel covers 538 metres. Five stations including Sivok and Rangpo are planned on proposed Railway Line. Four stations are proposed to be open crossing stations e.g., Sivok, Riyang, Melli & Rangpo and one underground halt station e.g. Teesta Bazar.
The Tunnelling which is about 86% of the total length is constructed by the latest Technique called NATM . The works of this project is supervised by the International Consultants so that the Safety and Quality is ensured. IRCON is taking all the measures so that there is minimum disturbance to the Environment and Forest.
Video of the project:
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Update on COVID-19 Vaccine Availability in States/UTs
More than 103.5 Crore vaccine doses provided to States/UTs
More than 10.85 Crore balance and unutilized vaccine doses still available with States/UTs
The Union Government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID-19 vaccination throughout the country. The new phase of universalization of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from 21st June 2021. The vaccination drive has been ramped up through availability of more vaccines, advance visibility of vaccine availability to States and UTs for enabling better planning by them, and streamlining the vaccine supply chain.
As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them COVID Vaccines free of cost. In the new phase of the universalization of the COVID19 vaccination drive, the Union Government will procure and supply  75% of the vaccines being produced by the vaccinemanufacturers in the country to States and UTs.
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VACCINE DOSES
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SUPPLIED
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1,03,53,51,045
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BALANCE AVAILABLE
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10,85,69,250
More than 103.5 crore  vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far through Govt of India  and through direct state procurement category.
More than 10.85 Cr  balance and unutilized COVID Vaccine doses are still available with the States/UTs to be administered.
Ministry of Communications
Cabinet apprised about MoU between India and Republic of Korea in issuing jointly Postage Stamp
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, was apprised about an MoU signed in February, 2019 between India and Republic of Korea.
Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, Government of India and The Ministry of Science and ICT , Government of the Republic of Korea have mutually agreed to jointly issue Postage Stamps on the theme "Queen Hur Hwang-ok of Korea".
The joint stamps will be released on a mutually agreed date by the end of 2019.
Prime Minister's Office
PM pays homage to martyrs of 2001 Parliament attack
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has paid homage to the martyrs of 2001 Parliament attack.
“Today we pay homage to the brave personnel who sacrificed their lives while protecting our Parliament. Their martyrdom will never be forgotten”, the Prime Minister said.
Ministry of Finance
Exchange Rates Notification No.28/2020 - Customs 
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 , the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs hereby makes the following amendment in the Notification of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs No.27/2020-CUSTOMS , dated 19th March, 2020 with effect from 21st March, 2020, namely: -
In the SCHEDULE-I of the said Notification, for serial No. 1 & 10 and the entries relating thereto, the following shall be substituted, namely: -
SCHEDULE-I
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Sl.No.
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Foreign Currency
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Rate of exchange of one unit of foreign currency equivalent to Indian rupees
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1.
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Australian Dollar
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45.05
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42.95
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10.
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Norwegian Kroner
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6.85
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6.60
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Ministry of External Affairs
Cabinet approves preparations for India’s G20 Presidency and setting up and staffing of the G20 Secretariat
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today approved the setting up of a G20 Secretariat and its reporting structures, which will be responsible for implementation of overall policy decisions and arrangements needed for steering India’s forthcoming G20 Presidency.
India will hold the Presidency of the G20 from 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023, culminating with the G20 Summit in India in 2023. G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation that plays an important role in global economic governance.
As per practice, a G20 Secretariat is being established to handle work relating to substantive / knowledge / content, technical, media, security and logistical aspects of India’s G20 Presidency. It will be manned by officers and staff from the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and other relevant line Ministries / Departments and domain knowledge experts. The Secretariat will be functional till February 2024.
The Secretariat will be guided by an Apex Committee headed by Prime Minister, and comprising Finance Minister, Home Minister, External Affairs Minister, and G20 Sherpa , to provide overall guidance to India’s G20 Presidency. Further, a Coordination Committee will also be set up to oversee all G20 preparations and report to the Apex Committee. The G20 Secretariat will enable long term capacity building, including knowledge and expertise, for India’s leadership on global issues in multilateral fora.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
OPERATION OF OLD AGE HOMES BY NON-GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing Integrated Programme For Senior Citizens , a component of Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana
Grant-in-aid is provided to implementing agencies like Non-Government/Voluntary organizations for running and maintenance of Senior Citizens' Homes 
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing Integrated Programme For Senior Citizens , a component of Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana under which grant-in-aid is provided to implementing agencies like Non-Government/Voluntary organizations for running and maintenance of Senior Citizens' Homes.
In order to increase the working efficiency of the Senior Citizens' Homes under the IPSrC, the following steps have been taken:-
i. The Ministry has set up a Project Monitoring Unit for monitoring the projects under the scheme;
- These homes are required to install Close Circuit Television cameras in the premises since 2020-21;
- The implementing organizations are also required to maintain websites for displaying the information about the homes and also the live feed of the CCTV cameras;
- The Ministry of Finance has introduced Expenditure Advanced Transfer module of the Public Finance Management System under which the implementing agencies are required to reflect where the grant-in-aid is finally being spent by them.
The system of release of grant-in-aid is a continuous process on the basis of receipt of proposals along with the requisite supporting documents on e-Anudaan portal, subject to the conditions laid down in the General Financial Rules, 2017.
This information was given by Minister of State for Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Sushri Pratima Bhoumik in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
India Re-elected as President of Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development  for a Third Successive Term
In an unprecedented development where India had already served two terms as President, Asia- Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development  General Conference  from 2018 – 2021 and 2021 – 2023, India has been elected as President of AIBD GC for the 3rd successive term to lead the prestigious international organisation.
On the above achievement, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting stated that this milestone has happened for the first time in the history of AIBD, which is an organization of 50 years old and this shows the confidence of the broadcasting organizations across the Asia Pacific and the world on India and that India can - show the way, lead the way in providing a new value of the broadcasting.
AIBD, established in 1977 under the auspices of UNESCO, is a unique regional inter-governmental organisation, currently has 92 member organisations from across 44 countries, including 26 Government Members  represented by 48 broadcasting authorities and broadcasters, and 44 Affiliates  of which represented by 28 countries and regions in Asia, Pacific, Europe, Africa, Arab States and North America. India is one of the founding members of AIBD and Prasar Bharati, India’s public service broadcaster is the representative body of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India at AIBD.
The 21st General Conference & Associated Meetings 2023  of Asia- Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development  was chaired by its President Shri Gaurav Dwivedi, CEO Prasar Bharati and concluded successfully from 02-04 October, 2023 in Port Louis, Mauritius. The two-day Conference is mandated to achieve a vibrant and cohesive electronic media environment in the Asia- Pacific region through policy and resource development.
Holding such prestigious post at an international broadcasting Institute not only reflects strong trust of the international media in India & Prasar Bharati but also lays the foundation for India to achieve strategically further milestones in the field of broadcasting.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Research in Traditional System of Medicines
Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences , an autonomous organization under Ministry of AYUSH has established 9 Institutes /Centres to promote Research in traditional system of medicine in Himalayan region. These Institutes/ Centres are located in Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Tripura and Nagaland.
CCRAS has one research Institute namely National Research Institute of Sowa Rigpa  located at Leh, Laddakh. The Institute has undertaken three Intramural Research Projects and One Tribal Health Care Research Project as follows:
- Completed Project on Pictorial guide of commonly used medicinal plants of Sowa -Rigpa and Ayurveda.
- Completed Project on Compilation and Documentation of classical Sowa-Rigpa formulations NRISR, Leh.
- Project on Development of Agro Technique for high altitude, endangered Medicinal Plants of trans Himalayan.
- Strengthening the tribal health care research project under tribal sub plan at Leh and also Sowa-rigpa health center at Kargil.
The Government of India has also approved a proposal for establishment of National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa, Leh on 20th November, 2019. This institute will be responsible to promote interdisciplinary research & education of Sowa-Rigpa
The Minister of State , Sh Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha here today.
Prime Minister's Office
PM thanks H. E. Scott Morrison for Australia’s recognition of India's COVAXIN
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has thanked the Prime Minister of Australia, H. E. Scott Morrison for Australia’s recognition of India's COVAXIN.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister said;
"I thank my dear friend @ScottMorrisonMP for Australia’s recognition of India's COVAXIN. It is an important step forward in the post-COVID partnership between 🇮🇳 and 🇦🇺."
Prime Minister's Office
PM expresses happiness over the recognition of Indian Football player, Sunil Chhetri as third highest scoring active men's international player
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has expressed happiness over the recognition of Indian Football player, Sunil Chhetri as third highest scoring active men's international player.
Responding to a tweet by FIFA World Cup, the Prime Minister tweeted;
"Well done Sunil Chhetri! This will certainly boost football’s popularity in India. @chetrisunil11 ⚽️ 🇮🇳"
Prime Minister's Office
PM congratulates Shushila Devi Likmabam for winning Silver medal in Women's Judo at Commonwealth Games 2022
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has congratulated Shushila Devi Likmabam for winning Silver medal in Women's Judo at Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister said;
"Elated by the exceptional performance by Shushila Devi Likmabam. Congratulations to her on winning the Silver medal. She has demonstrated remarkable skill and resilience. Best wishes for her future endeavours."
President's Secretariat
Change of Guard Ceremony to be held from 9AM to 10AM from this saturday
The Change of Guard Ceremony on the Forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan will take place from 0900 a.m. to 1000 a.m. from this Saturday . A request to witness the Ceremony can be made online on https://rb.nic.in/rbvisit/rbvisit_cog.aspx.
PIB Headquarters
Smooth customs clearance for two relief/evacuation flights at Chennai International Airport
On 10.4.2020 Friday Customs at Chennai International Airport facilitated smooth customs clearance for two relief/evacuation flights.
- Scoot Tiger Airlines flight TR-0579 carrying 248 passengers to Singapore left Chennai Airport at 020 hrs early morning.
2. DRUK AIR- Royal Bhutan Airlines flight KB603 which was handled by Air India, carrying 80 passengers to Paro  left Chennai Airport at 13:10 hrs.
Earlier Customs have facilitated 08 special relief/evacuation flights, carrying 1304 foreign nationals to Kuala Lumpur, Paris, Frankfurt & Muscat during Covid -19 lockdown by following all precautions according to a press release issued by Shri. Rajan Chaudhary, Commissioner of Customs, Chennai International Airport
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
IREDA bags “Green Urja Award”
Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. IREDA has been conferred with “Green Urja Award” for being the Leading Public Institution in Financing Institution for Renewable Energy this year by Indian Chamber of Commerce . The award was received by Shri Pradip Kumar Das, Chairman & Managing Director , IREDA from Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, International Solar Alliance in presence of Shri Anil Razdan, Chairman, ICC National Expert Committee on Energy in a virtual ceremony held today.
IREDA gets the award for the pivotal and developmental role it plays in Green Energy Financing. Appreciating the members of the jury for selecting IREDA, Shri Das said that he is honoured to receive this award on behalf of IREDA. The award recognises our immense contribution in development of Renewable Energy Sector in line with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat.
Further, Shri Das expressed his gratitude to Hon’ble Union Minister of Power, New and Renewable Energy, Shri R K Singh who has been instrumental in guiding and facilitating IREDA with his fast decision making approach for overall growth of Power and RE sector. He also thanked Shri Indu Sekhar Chaturvedi, Secretary, MNRE and other officials of MNRE for their continuous support to the company. CMD, IREDA dedicated the awards to all the IREDANs for constant hard work and making their best efforts to give outstanding performance in last one year despite numerous challenges including COVID-19.
Despite of pandemic time, IREDA has ended the year 2020-21 ended on a strong note and disbursed the second highest  amount of loan amounting to Rs. 8827 crore, which indicates that IREDA has the ability to translate this problem into an opportunity.
On this occasion, CMD, IREDA also highlighted unique initiatives taken by IREDA to contain the first and second waves of COVID-19. It has constituted an exemplary ‘COVID Care Response Team’ that is continuously taking care of COVID-19 positive employees and their family members starting from June 2020 resulting into ‘ZERO’ employees who are COVID infected/under treatment as on 11th May 2021. At this point when the whole world is struggling to cope up with the pandemic, IREDA could successfully ensure a safe and healthy environment for its employees by adopting a proactive and timely COVID management approach.
IREDA under the administrative control of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy  is the only dedicated institution for financing Renewable Energy  & Energy Efficiency  projects in India. Since, its inception the company has played a catalytic role in developing market for financing RE & EE projects. IREDA has over the years sanctioned loans aggregating to Rs. 96,601 crores, disbursed Rs. 63,492 cores and supported more than 17,586 MW of RE capacity in the country till date.